Reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a #@% as a 25-year-old self-help junkie and a fan of counterculture I found the book amazing. It was self-help disguised as something better than personal development. It was beyond that. Rooting in ancient Buddhist philosophies, fueled with great present-day stories like the one about Metallica (that thing just hits me every time).
Fast-forward seven years. It's cold Saturday night. Snows. I've had a long day at work and coming home I browse new rentals eventually finding this piece. No need to check the trailer, I know it's going to be a good trip.
Boy was I wrong. It's a sad video essay about Mark's trauma caused by his drug use which eventually led to his parents' divorce. He discusses the concept of entitlement and fake reality portrayed on social media - but then shows his own travel photos narrated with stories about douchebags (including himself) with a tone that displays nothing but entitlement. The delivery of these stories is so dull that not even the great graphics help with the boredom those one-dimensional and scattered diary entries cause in the viewer. It's a tone of a person who feels their experiences and observations to be inherently interesting, without putting effort into crafting their public speaking or storytelling. Awkward laughter after talking proudly about ones encounters with women while simultaneously realizing that no one really gives a #@%!
Manson has stated earlier that behind his blog and books is a huge team of researchers. That's why the posts are always spot on with many interesting details. I believe like they weren't involved with this film, and I feel slightly betrayed.
In the theme of the documentary, accepting that your life is going to suck, I finished almost the whole film trying to observe if it's the film or me that sucks. I received the results, and I can tell you it wasn't me.
On the other hand, Mark shows in a sad way that what he preaches is true - he's not special.
Fast-forward seven years. It's cold Saturday night. Snows. I've had a long day at work and coming home I browse new rentals eventually finding this piece. No need to check the trailer, I know it's going to be a good trip.
Boy was I wrong. It's a sad video essay about Mark's trauma caused by his drug use which eventually led to his parents' divorce. He discusses the concept of entitlement and fake reality portrayed on social media - but then shows his own travel photos narrated with stories about douchebags (including himself) with a tone that displays nothing but entitlement. The delivery of these stories is so dull that not even the great graphics help with the boredom those one-dimensional and scattered diary entries cause in the viewer. It's a tone of a person who feels their experiences and observations to be inherently interesting, without putting effort into crafting their public speaking or storytelling. Awkward laughter after talking proudly about ones encounters with women while simultaneously realizing that no one really gives a #@%!
Manson has stated earlier that behind his blog and books is a huge team of researchers. That's why the posts are always spot on with many interesting details. I believe like they weren't involved with this film, and I feel slightly betrayed.
In the theme of the documentary, accepting that your life is going to suck, I finished almost the whole film trying to observe if it's the film or me that sucks. I received the results, and I can tell you it wasn't me.
On the other hand, Mark shows in a sad way that what he preaches is true - he's not special.